Judge says Enron defendants can't cover jurors' pay

Judge says defendants can't cover jurors' pay

Published 5:30 am, Saturday, May 21, 2005

A judge has denied an unusual request by former Enron Broadband Services executives to supplement the pay of jurors who complained they are suffering financially while serving in the lengthy trial.

The ruling, made public Friday by U.S. District Court Judge Vanessa Gilmore, included no comment.

Lawyers representing the executives proposed earlier this week that money be funneled through the court clerk, who would disburse it without disclosing the source to jurors. Jurors now get $40 a day, which rises to $50 a day after 30 days of service.

The offer riled the government's Enron Task Force, which said in a brief that such a move would be akin to bribery and is not permissible.

The issue came up Wednesday after Gilmore told long-faced jurors that the trial, originally planned for two months, would last several weeks longer because prosecutors underestimated the time it would take for the defense to cross-examine their witnesses.

Two jurors complained to Gilmore they were not getting paid while serving jury duty and were going broke.

Gilmore told lawyers Friday morning she had been in contact with the employers of the two jurors.

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"I worked out something with one of the employers, and I'm working out something with the other employer," Gilmore said.

She added that she was hopeful such arrangements, which she did not detail, would keep them on the jury.

Gilmore in recent days has discussed with lawyers from both sides whether they would accept dismissing the two jurors because of financial hardship. They told her they were having trouble paying their mortgages.